91-Year-Old Sets Age Group Record At San Diego Marathon

Athletes from the elite women field start during the 118th running of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, April 21, 2014. REUTERS/Dominick Reuter

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91-year-old Harriette Thompson finished the San Diego Marathon on Sunday with a time of 7:07:42, setting a new record in her age group, according to Runner’s World.

“I feel wonderful,” Thompson said after the race. “I feel very relieved and I feel very anxious to take a shower and then fall into bed.”

Thompson has run every year since she was 76 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Team in Training, and ran in honor of her brother, who passed away in February from lymphoma. She said she wasn’t able to train as much as usual because she just finished up radiation treatment to treat squamous cell carcinoma on her legs, but she did better than she was expecting.

“I found that the first 13 miles were very easy and then around mile 17 it became a little harder,” she said. “I’m almost as surprised as everybody else.”

Thompson said that she’ll be back for the marathon next year “if I’m still here… I’ll try and do better next year and be in better shape,” she said.

“You’re never too old to do it,” Thompson said. “I started my first marathon at 76.”

Monday, she’ll be relaxing and celebrating her 67th wedding anniversary with her husband Sydnor, 90, at their home in North Carolina.